Nurses get dermatitis from hand washing

17th August 2011

The Royal College of Nursing has warned that dermatitis cases among nurses have become increasingly common because health workers are forced to repeatedly wash their hands to prevent the spread of infection.

The RCN is now developing guidance on how to prevent contact dermatitis after it emerged that many nurses in Scotland were suffering from the painful skin condition including some at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness who have had to be put on restrictive duties because the condition was preventing them from working at full capacity.